Bleed For My Brother
by recklesslove
Summary: Helena has cursed Lucky with a mysterious illness. As he lays dying from Helena's magic, can Jesse and Nikolas save his life?
1. Chapter 1

Bleed for My Brother

Part 1

Lucky lurched slightly as he entered the police station, putting his hands on a desk to steady himself. Looking up from a file he was perusing, Jesse immediately got up and went over to his partner. "Hey man," Jesse said, putting a hand on Lucky's shoulder. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucky said, a little unsteadily. He quickly straightened up, but instantly wavered again. Jesse moved his other hand onto Lucky's other shoulder, keeping him upright.

"Lucky, I don't think you're fine." Pulling a chair over, Jesse eased Lucky down into the seat. "Maybe you should go home and rest."

Lucky shook his head, a movement that elicited an involuntary groan from his lips. "We have a bust today. I'm not going to let you go out there alone, Jesse." Jesse opened his mouth to argue, but Lucky stopped him. "Jesse, the bust goes down in half an hour. We need to go."

Jesse's proposed argument was again cut short, this time by Mac, reminding them that they needed to get going. Jesse was ready first, and began walking out the door, but heard a loud thump behind him. Spinning around, his horrified eyes fell on Lucky's still body crumpled on the floor. "Lucky!" he yelled, dropping to his knees and feeling for Lucky's pulse. He had one, but it was far too faint. "Someone call an ambulance!"

One of the other officers picked up a phone. "We have an officer down at the PCPD," he said. "He collapsed and he's unconscious. We need an ambulance here as soon as possible."

"Lucky, c'mon partner, wake up," Jesse urged. With quickly mounting horror, he noticed the fountain of blood that had suddenly started pouring from the back of Lucky's head. When Jesse took off his coat and gently lifted Lucky's head to try to staunch the blood flow, he was shocked to discover there was no wound. Yet the blood continued to flow, forming rivers around Lucky's unmoving form.


	2. Chapter 2

The paramedics arrived and forced Jesse to stand back as they started work on Lucky. Unable to locate the wound either, they quickly loaded Lucky onto a stretcher. Jesse followed them and climbed into the back of the ambulance. He held Lucky's hand and anxiously watched his face, but Lucky's eyes stayed closed the whole ride.

As the stretcher exited the elevator, Monica came rushing over and immediately took charge. Jesse watched helplessly as Lucky was wheeled away, then his attention was turned as Liz and Emily strolled over to the front desk, laughing and talking happily. Jesse could tell they didn't know, and that he would have to be the one to tell them.

"Jesse, are you hurt?" Liz suddenly asked, staring at him in concern. It was only then Jesse realized he was covered in Lucky's blood.

"No Liz, it's…it's Lucky," Jesse said, forcing himself not to look away. "He collapsed at the station and started bleeding, but I don't know why."

"Oh God," Liz moaned, her knees buckling. Emily and Jesse caught her together and helped her over to a chair. "Not again! I can't lose him. I can't."

"He's going to be fine," Emily insisted, fighting back her own tears. "He's a fighter, and he's going to be fine."

"Can I call anyone?" Jesse offered. He noticed his red-stained hands were now shaking violently and fought hard to still them. He needed to help, and for that he needed to get control of himself. "What about Lucky's other family-Luke and Nikolas and Lulu?"

"Luke's out of town," Liz said shakily. "And when he's out of town there's no way to get in touch with him."

"I'll go call Nikolas and Lulu," Emily offered, standing up and running her hands over her face. "Can you stay with Liz, Jesse?"

"Of course," Jesse answered. Emily left, and for a moment neither Liz nor Jesse did anything. Then Liz let out a loud sob and buried her face into Jesse's shoulder. Jesse put his arm around her as she cried. A few minutes later she sat up and let out a shaky laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said. She gestured at his shirt. "I got your shirt all wet." Another desperate laugh escaped her lips.

"Don't worry about it," Jesse said kindly. "You're my partner's wife. You're family."

The elevator doors opened again, and Nikolas, Lulu, and Emily poured out. Lulu was crying, hands pressed tightly against her face. "No news," Liz stammered out, taking a few shallow breaths. Nikolas strode up to Jesse.

"You were there when my brother collapsed. What happened?" Nikolas asked Jesse. Jesse took no offense at Nikolas' curt tone. He could tell Nikolas was hanging on by a thread.

"When Lucky came in to the station, he seemed really weak," Jesse answered, still able to see the scene moment by moment in his mind. "He kept staggering and clutching his head. When we left to go to our bust, I-"

"You let him go on a bust while he was obviously sick?" Nikolas interrupted furiously. "How could you do that? Didn't you-"

Now it was Jesse's turn to interrupt. "Lucky insisted on coming with me because he didn't want to leave his partner unprotected at a dangerous bust!" he yelled back. "I would never have intentionally let Lucky get hurt! He's my friend, ok?"

Nikolas stared at Jesse for a moment. "I'm sorry," Nikolas said finally, taking a shaky breath and running his hand over his face. "What I said…that was unfair of me. I'm just really worried about my brother."

"I know," Jesse said. "It's ok. I understand. I'm worried about Lucky too."

"If it helps at all, Nikolas," Liz said, her voice clogged with tears, "Lucky really loved those cufflinks you sent over."

"Cufflinks?" Nikolas turned to look at Liz, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Yeah," Liz said. "You sent over these gorgeous cufflinks, and you had them engraved with the date of Lucky's and my wedding. "

"Liz, I never sent any cufflinks," Nikolas said, his mind racing. "I'm actually having a pair made, but they aren't done yet. There was some sort of hold-up at the jewelers." Nikolas paused for a second. "Liz, who touched those cufflinks?"

Liz stared at Nikolas, confusion showing in her tear-stained eyes. "Just Lucky. He showed them to me, but I was holding Cam. Then he put the box in his bedside drawer. He joked they were too fancy for a drug bust."

"Liz, I need your house key," Nikolas said. "I promise I'll bring it right back." Liz handed the key over with no hesitation. Nikolas hugged Liz tightly. "He's going to be ok Liz." Turning to Emily, Nikolas lay a hand on her upper arm. "Will you stay with Liz?"

"Of course," Emily answered, unable to stop her eyes from falling on Nikolas' hand, which slid down her arm to meet her hand. For a moment their fingers intertwined, then Nikolas slowly pulled away, fingertips touching until the last moment.

"I need to go," he said, his eyes meeting Emily's. She nodded and moved to the couch, where she put her arm around Liz's shoulders.

"I'm coming too," Jesse said. "Cops tend to be pretty good at finding things." Nikolas nodded, and he and Jesse got into the elevator.


	3. Chapter 3

Bleed For My Brother Chapter 3

Inserting the key in the lock, Nikolas opened the door to Liz and Lucky's home. The familiar site appeared as warm and welcoming as ever, a few of Cameron's toys strewn on the floor, an empty blue mug perched on the table. Nikolas couldn't help but picture his brother there, on the couch, Cam in his lap, his arm around Liz as they shared a plate of brownies warm from the oven. That was the way things were supposed to be.

Instead, the rooms were empty as Nikolas made his way to the bedroom and opened the nightstand drawer. The drawer was empty. "Jesse, we need to find the cufflinks," Nikolas called to Jesse, who was in the living room. "But don't touch them if you do find them."

Nikolas looked all around the nightstand, getting down on his hands and knees to peer under the bed. Jesse scoured the rest of the room, and then the two of them searched the entire place. The cufflinks were nowhere to be found.

Jesse lifted up the couch cushions for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Nikolas, why exactly are we looking for these cufflinks?" Jesse asked.

Nikolas sighed deeply, continuing to reopen drawers in the kitchen. "Trust me, if I tell you, you won't believe me," he said.

"I won't be anymore confused than I am right now," Jesse answered.

Nikolas looked at Jesse for a moment, then walked from the kitchen back into the living room. "Ok," Nikolas said, leaning his weight on the back of the couch. "I think the cufflinks are cursed."

"Ok, you were right, that does sound a little… extreme." Jesse moved around the couch until he was standing next to Nikolas.

"You say that only because you're new in town. There have definitely been weirder things here in Port Charles than cursed cufflinks."

Jesse stared at Nikolas. "You're serious." He took a deep breath. "Ok, say the cufflinks are…cursed. Who would, and could, do something like that?"

"You are new." Nikolas let out a bitter laugh. "There's really only one suspect. May I suggest you go to the police station and pull the massive file on Helena Cassadine? You should know exactly what we're up against."

"What are you going to do?" Jesse asked.

"I'm going to pay a visit to my grandmother," Nikolas said, his fists slowly tightening at his sides.


	4. Chapter 4

Bleed for My Brother Chapter 4

Nikolas stormed into Wyndemere, slamming the door behind him. "Grandmother!" he yelled. "Get out here now!"

"She's not here, Cassadine." Luke stepped out of the shadows. "I've already searched this whole horrible place. Took hours, but I can guarantee she's not here."

"So you figured out she's behind this too." Nikolas wasn't surprised to see Luke in his home, figuring he had taken Lucky's key to let himself in.

"Of course." Luke strolled over to Nikolas' desk and settled himself in the chair. "Where there's an attack on a Spencer there's a Cassadine behind it."

"There's Helena behind it," Nikolas corrected, feeling his fists clench at his side.

"Same thing," Luke replied calmly, placing his feet up on the desk.

"No it's not!" Nikolas fought to keep himself under control, but couldn't. "I am not my grandmother!" Striding forward furiously, Nikolas slammed his hands down on either side of Luke's feet and leaned in. "Lucky is my brother, no matter how much you hate that. I love him, and am a part of his life. Accept it, or not, but don't you dare imply I would ever hurt him or Lulu or even you no matter how much you hate me!" Nikolas kept his hands on the desk and stared at Luke.

Luke was silent for a moment, then nodded his head slightly. "Do you know how she's hurting Lucky?" Luke asked, sliding his feet off the desk. Nikolas stared at him for a moment, then pulled a chair over.

"I think she sent him cursed cufflinks," Nikolas said, knowing Luke would not question this statement as Jesse had. "Jesse and I searched Liz and Lucky's place top to bottom, but we couldn't find them."

"She'll have them with her." Luke stood up and stretched. "I know a few more places the old hag might be hiding. I'll see if I can smoke her out." Luke spoke his next words casually while walking out the door. "Why don't you go visit your brother? I'll call you if I find out anything."

Nikolas sat at his desk for a moment, his eyes glued to the framed pictures all around him. The picture of the 4 Musketeers at the most recent Kelly's dinner. He and Emily on their wedding day. He and Lucky and Lucky and Liz's wedding.

The last two pictures in particular held Nikolas' gaze. Picking one up in each hand, he stared at them. "I'm losing you both," he whispered, tears starting their flow down his cheeks. Then he took a deep breath and gently placed the photos down. "But not if I can help it." Running his hands over his face, he threw on his coat and strode out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Bleed For My Brother Chapter 5

Nikolas walked back into the hospital, and immediately headed for Lucky's room. Upon entering, he saw Liz sitting by Lucky's bedside, her hand tightly woven in his. Standing up, Liz gratefully folded herself into Nikolas' embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.

"He's not getting better," she sobbed out, shaking. Nikolas wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"He will Liz, I promise," Nikolas said, kissing her forehead. "Jesse, Luke, and I are all working to figure this out." He looked at her pale face in concern. "Have you eaten anything?" Liz tearfully shook her head no. "I'll stay with Lucky. You go get something to eat, ok?"

Once Liz had left the room, Nikolas settled next to his brother's bed, taking Lucky's hand in his own. "Hey Lucky," he said softly, staring at Lucky's still face. "You want to know something crazy? Your dad and I are actually working together…well, ok, we're working separately in our collaboration but still…that counts, right?"

The silence that followed was filled only with the sound of Nikolas' tears, coming quickly and freely now. "You always bring people together, Lucky," Nikolas said, his voice coming out as a sob-choked whisper. "First you and me, then me with Liz and Emily, then you brought me together with Lulu and Bobbie and Lesley. And now you've even brought your dad and me together. Hey, and Jesse's a nice guy too, and he'll be a big help cause he really cares about you too."

Nikolas lowered his head until it was pressed into the mattress, his sobs shaking his shoulders. "I don't know what I'd do without you Lucky." He raised his head again, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Which is ironic, right, cause we wasted so much time fighting hard not to be in each other's lives."

Reaching over with his free hand, Nikolas tenderly brushed his brother's hair back from his face. "So you owe me, ok? You owe me a lot of years, and a lot of Kelly's dinners, and a lot of talks in the park. And I'm not going to let you get out of that. Please…" Nikolas couldn't even talk for a second, the sobs coming faster and faster, his voice becoming more and more desperate. "Please don't leave me, Lucky. I love you too much to lose you."

Nikolas felt a hand on his shoulder, and glanced up to see Jesse standing over him, his eyes on Lucky. "I'm really sorry to interrupt Nikolas, but Emily is in the lobby looking for you," Jesse said. "I can sit with Lucky if you want."

"Thanks," Nikolas said, rising from his seat. He looked down at his brother again, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon, ok, Lucky? Jesse's here to visit you." Nikolas patted Jesse on the arm as he left, Jesse taking Nikolas' seat beside Lucky's bed.

Nikolas walked into the lobby shakily, rubbing his hands over his tired, tear-stained eyes. Suddenly he saw Emily, perched on a couch in the lobby, her silken hair falling over her eyes as she poured over a medical chart. He stood there for a minute, silently, then walked over to join her, sitting next to her.

"Hey Emily," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. "Jesse said you were looking for me."

"Hi," she answered, equally softly. "I wanted to check in with you, see how you were doing. I know…this can't be easy."

Staring into her caring eyes, Nikolas felt himself come apart. He leaned his head on her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. Sobbing on her shoulder, he clutched at her, holding her tightly to him.

"It's not fair, Em, it should be me in there, not him. Helena…she does all this because of me, and everyone I love always gets hurt," Nikolas choked out, his breathing ragged and gasping. Raising his head slightly, Nikolas still couldn't bring himself to meet Emily's eyes. "I hurt you, and I can't blame that on Helena."

Emily gently touched Nikolas' chin, raising his face until his eyes met hers. "Lucky wouldn't want you to take his place in there, and you know it," she said tenderly. "And…yes, you hurt me, but…" Tears filled her eyes.

"Emily, I am so sorry for what I did. I…I was a horrible person and I have no defense. Only…that I broke up with Courtney and I am more sorry than I can ever say."

Emily looked up quickly. "You broke up with Courtney?"

"I never loved her, Em. I only…I was just looking for someone to take care of me because I couldn't be man enough to take care of you. Em, it…" Reaching over slowly, hesitantly, Nikolas ran his hand gently down the side of Emily's face. "It's always been you. Even when I hadn't met you yet, it was you. I've never stopped loving you."

Eyes shining with tears, Emily mirrored Nikolas' gesture, her hand sliding down his cheek. Both leaning in at once, their lips met. As they pulled away, Emily laughed tearfully, then moved in for a deeper kiss. Neither noticed anything around them until a shrill frantic beeping filled the hospital, and nurses and doctors started all rushing towards one room.

"That's Lucky's room!" Nikolas shouted, horrified. He sprang to his feet, clutching Emily's hand as they rushed towards Lucky's room together.


	6. Chapter 6

Nikolas ran full tilt into Lucky's room, Emily right behind him. Doctors were already crowding the room, one placing paddles on Lucky's still chest. "Excuse me sir, you'll need to wait outside," a nurse said, trying to move Nikolas out of the room.

"That's my brother!" Nikolas yelled, shoving past her until he was at the side of Lucky's bed. "Lucky, c'mon Lucky, you have to be ok, you're going to be ok." Emily was suddenly behind him, her arms encircling his waist, and he leaned back into her gratefully, his knees sagging.

"We've got a pulse!" the doctor yelled, and Nikolas let out a sob of relief as Lucky's chest began to rise and fall again. "Excuse me, sir, can I talk to you outside?" the same doctor asked, striding over to Nikolas. Nikolas nodded weakly and, grabbing Emily's hand, followed the doctor into the hall.

"Your brother is getting weaker by the minute," the doctor said bluntly, flipping through his charts. "I've never seen a condition this degenerative before ever. If we don't find a cure soon, I'm afraid we'll lose him."

Nikolas stared at the doctor, praying it would all be a mistake and the words would be taken back. When the doctor walked away, Nikolas turned into Emily's arms, burying his face in her comforting shoulder. "Emily, I can't lose him," Nikolas said, his voice trembling, tears staining Emily's blouse.

"I know," Emily answered, wrapping her arms tighter around Nikolas' body. "I can't either."

Nikolas suddenly pulled away, his features steely, his look determined. "I know what I have to do." He pulled Emily into him, kissing her passionately, clinging on to her. When his lips left hers, he whispered in her ear, "I love you. I will always love you. When Lucky wakes up, tell him I love him and…if something happens…" Nikolas kissed Emily again, then ran his hands along her face as though he was memorizing her features. "I love you so much."

Nikolas took off running down the hallway, leaving Emily staring after him, still able to taste him on her lips.


	7. Chapter 7

Bleed for My Brother

Chapter 7

_For those of you who had been reading this story when I first started it, I want to say I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish it. I just got stuck with it for a while, and didn't want to force it and have the story turn out horrible, so I waited. I finally figured out how I want to finish it, and so here it is…the final chapter of "Bleed for My Brother". I hope you feel it was worth the wait, and that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for sticking with it!_

Dashing off the launch, Nikolas sprinted into Wyndmere, coming face-to-face with a very placid and content Helena sitting behind his desk. "You bitch!" Nikolas yelled, slamming his hands onto the desk inches from Helena's calmly upturned palms. "Tell me what the hell you did to my brother!"

"Simply eliminating a problem, my darling grandson," Helena answered, twisting in her chair slightly. "The Spencers-"

"The Spencers are my family. Not you, them." Striding behind the desk, Nikolas yanked Helena roughly from the chair, slamming her into the wall. Pinning her arms, he reached into her pockets, first one, then the other, finally finding and extracting a small ivory box.

Sliding back from Helena, Nikolas flicked the box open to reveal a pair of ornate cufflinks. Mind racing, plan firm and clear, he lowered a finger until it hovered just above one of the largest stones. Hurrying from behind the desk, a now clearly frightened Helena grabbed Nikolas' arm, attempting to keep his finger from lowering anymore.

"Nikolas, don't!" But Helena was too late. Nikolas slid his wrist from her grasp and lay a finger lightly on a cufflink. Instantly the room spun, light flickering in and out in front of his vision. Breathing suddenly becoming haggard, Nikolas clung to the desk for support, now clutching the cufflink firmly in his hand where Helena couldn't reach it.

"Break…break the spell, or…" But Nikolas didn't need to finish, nor could he. His knees buckling, he lost his grip on the desk, crashing onto the floor where he lay still, heartbeat slowing, breathing more and more ragged.

"Nikolas!" Her breath catching in her throat, Helena withdrew something from her pocket. Everything was a blur to Nikolas, and all he could make out were a few mumbled words, and suddenly he could breathe again. Sitting up slowly, Nikolas eyed his grandmother, his head still spinning. "Your brother will be fine," she spit out, her eyes flashing anger. "You will too, you…I…" Unable to find the words, Helena could only stare at her grandson, the anger in her eyes fading to a deep sadness as she turned heel and marched out the door.

Still weakened, Nikolas lurched to his feet, fighting to get his breathing back to a normal rhythm. Stumbling to the launch, he quickly made his way to the hospital, where the first face he saw was Emily's.

"Nikolas!" Hurrying forward, she gently clasped his face in her hands. "You're so pale, and…are you ok?"

"I'm fine, just shaken up thanks to Helena." Leaning forward, Nikolas pressed his lips into Emily's, softly, passionately, pulling back to grab her hand and hurry off to Lucky's room. "How's my brother?"

"See for yourself." Nikolas couldn't see Emily's grin because all his focus was on the incredibly beautiful sight of Lucky with his eyes open, sitting up in bed with color in his cheeks and a smile on his face as he held Liz's hand.

"Lucky!" Hearing Nikolas' voice, Lucky's eyes shot up to focus on him, and a huge grin spread across both their faces. Choking back tears, Nikolas strode forward, wrapping his arms around Lucky tightly, Lucky returning the embrace. "God, it's good to see your eyes open."

Pulling back slightly, Nikolas perched on the side of the bed, keeping a hand on Lucky's arm. "You feeling ok?"

"Completely fine," Lucky answered reassuringly, smiling at Emily as she joined the other three on the bed. "Doctors gave me a clean bill of health. They couldn't explain what happened…but somehow I think I know." Moving his hand up, Lucky placed it over Nikolas'. "Whatever you did, bro, thank you."

"Anything for my family." Grinning, Nikolas wrapped an arm around Emily's waist, pulling her close to him as he lightly kissed her temple. As Liz and Lucky's eyebrows shot up in joint surprise, matched by identical grins, Nikolas laughed. "Look at the magic you work Lucky. It was so kind of you to provide a crisis for Emily and me to snap back to our senses."

"Well you two better not need another one, because I am all out of comas," Lucky answered with a laugh. "I'm so happy for you two."

"I'm so happy for all of us," Liz added with a smile, leaning back into Lucky's outstretched arms. "This calls for a celebration."

"Brownies?" Nikolas asked hopefully, wrapping Emily in his arms.

"Brownies at Kelly's as soon as Lucky's out of here," Liz promised. "It's been way too long since we've had a Four Musketeers dinner."

"Yes, it has," Nikolas answered softly. Emily turned to lightly kiss him, and Nikolas returned the kiss, and the four best friends perched in Lucky's hospital bed surrounded by laughter and love.


End file.
